The Nerd and The Brat (Sequel) ✔

Chapter - 12

Hello Fam :)

NOTE - As I said, I am back to college, I don't have an internet issue but there's a lot of work that I am doing. (I think I have around 20 images of the high-resolution pure night sky with the brightest stars and galaxies around ours :P). That's part of my work. Hence, regarding the updates, I will try to write during the weekdays and update the chapters during the weekend. I hope that's okay. :)

Happy Reading...

Manik woke up early in the morning and found Nandini sleeping. Since it was only six and she wouldn't go to sleep before dawn, he took his clothes silently and slipped in for a shower. Half an hour later, without making a noise, he went to find Nyonika.

"Aren't you up too early for a newlywed guy?", teased his mother as a greeting. Going by all the sweat glistening her face, she might have just returned from her morning workout.

Manik fought his blush with an eye-roll. What was his mental state when he decided to confess his love story to his mom? She was worse than Cabir. "Good morning to you too, mom", he said and settled down on the couch as she went to freshen up before sitting beside him.

"What's up, Manik? Is everything alright?", she asked.

"Nandini said she was angry and was rude to you yesterday. I wanted to apologize on her behalf."

Nyonika laughed out. "It's fine, Manik. I didn't mind. Anyway, anger suits a Malhotra woman, you know. It keeps the Malhotra boys in check."

Manik rolled his eyes but didn't try to hide the smile on his face. "Only you could be happy with people close to you bossing over you", he said. He bit his lip when he realized what he had uttered but when his mother didn't reject him outright, Manik crossed his fingers. "Is it safe to assume that Nandini is close to you?", he muttered and prayed that the loud thudding of his heart wasn't audible to his mom.

Nyonika waited for a moment but when Manik dared himself to glance up at her, she was already staring at him, a smirk on her face. When he whined, she ruffled his hair. "It's fun to finally see you getting worked up for a girl instead of a new book", she teased him before smiling. It was soft and probably one of those rare smiles his mother hides. "I love her, Manik. She makes you happy and the argument should actually be over at that point. But she is also smart and strong and has the potential to keep a family from falling apart. It's obvious from the way she has done that to keep her friends safe. I don't think there's anything that gives me a reason to dislike her."

Manik released the breath he was holding as a chuckle. "And there she thinks you would hate her after yesterday."

"Maybe it's my time to take a step towards her?", she thought aloud before asking Manik, "how is the recovery coming on?"

"She is scared but trying, maybe. Or it was just one case", he said and explained her encounter with Meera yesterday. "It's like she is opening up but there's a lot inside her head. She gets lost in her own thoughts without realizing who's beside her. Sometimes I don't know how to react."

"Maybe accept her without a question. That helps sometimes at the same time don't leave it to her head for long hours. There's a thin line between helping her recover and coddling. I don't think she would appreciate the latter much", she said and patted his hand. "Breakfast?"

Manik nodded absent-mindedly. He snapped when Nyonika kissed the top of his head, taking him by surprise. Even if it was years since when his mother had started opening up, any form of affection still threw him off-guard.

"You are doing really good, kid. But healing doesn't have a shortcut. Let's put all our efforts and then wait for the results", she told. This time, she dragged him by his hand.